These organisations run around-the-clock services, responding to unforeseen major incidents and disasters. We understand they need to do this while consistently delivering excellent front-line services and achieving year-on-year efficiency savings. Our emergency services lawyers provide specialist legal advice to suit their unique operational and contractual requirements. Our advice and our responsiveness is tailored to the continuous and demanding pressures emergency services are under.

Our emergency services lawyers have significant sector experience and expertise across a wide range of legal disciplines. We are especially focused on ensuring the operational requirements of emergency services are not restricted by contractual constraints. Clients in this sector turn to us for advice on a range of issues, including security, reputation, confidentiality, integrity, diversity, value for money, data management and unique policy requirements.

Areas of focus

Our emergency services lawyers are known particularly for the following:

A broad range of sector knowledge, understanding and focus.

First class, value for money, legal support from the early strategic procurement phases right through to exit from the operational phase.

A "hands-on" approach with the appropriate level of experience coupled with partner level support.

The strength and depth of resources to deal effectively with the operational needs and demands of the emergency services.

Experience

Advising Avon and Somerset Police, Somerset County Council and Taunton Deane Borough Council on the South West One Project, a major outsourcing of back-office functions via a shared services partnering structure.

Advising Avon and Somerset Police on its agreement with North Somerset Council in respect of the shared services "Gateway" project through which police enquiry office services together with other integrated council services are provided to customers under "one roof".

Advising Ministry of Defence/Department for Transport on the £6 billion search and rescue helicopter PFI project for the provision of helicopter search and rescue services around the UK and the Falkland Islands.

Advising Metropolitan Police on the re-negotiation of the extension of its ICT outsourcing arrangements with CapGemini (estimated value over £1 billion).

Advising London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority on the termination of its PFI contract for the management and maintenance of fleet and operational equipment and the implementation of an interim outsourcing solution ahead of its planned re-procurement of the service. This was a highly-sensitive and time critical project, upon which the availability of London's entire fleet of fire engines and operational equipment was dependent.

Acting for London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority since 1999. Examples include the pathfinding vehicles and equipment PFI, fire station and HQ accommodation projects as well as on numerous critical goods and services procurements including in the ICT area.

Advising Radsafe on the restructuring of the nuclear sector's specialist nationwide response network.

Mark Paterson
Partner

What others say...

Your knowledge and experience of the commercial and legal negotiations is outstanding. I genuinely believe that without your strength of character, leadership, decision-making and negotiation skills, we would not have completed this contract… I have been completely impressed with your integrity, attention to detail and at times startling capacity for innovation.